


Informal Lessons in Stress Relief

by CrackingLamb



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Active Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Time, Poly-Vee - Freeform, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:06:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23692852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrackingLamb/pseuds/CrackingLamb
Summary: May I offer some completely plotless Night Before Omega 4 Relay Shakarian in these trying times?When your turian boyfriend insists you get another boyfriend because he can't be with you on a suicide mission, you don't argue.Part of the Some Kind of Resolution universe.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Nihlus Kryik/Female Shepard
Comments: 29
Kudos: 62





	Informal Lessons in Stress Relief

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated with all my love to everyone in the Calibrations Discord, and to my best friend in the world. Without you all, I'd be very much at a loss right now.
> 
> This was sitting in my snippet file for a long time, so I decided to make a oneshot out of it. Enjoy!

“I'm just sorry I can't be with you, my love,” Nihlus said. “I hope that young pup is taking good care of you.”

“Nih!” Henna scowled at him.

“What? He should. You need to blow off steam. He's good enough for that, I would think.”

“He's more than just a warm body, you irreverent old... _turian_.”

He laughed. He took great delight in making her prove to herself that she really did want Garrus as much as she wanted him. “Hey, we've talked plenty about this. You know how I feel. Now you're just stalling.”

“Yeah, I know we have.” She blew out a breath. “All's fair in love and war, can't be with the one I love, love the one I'm with.”

His mandibles flared in the tiny image on her omni-tool. “Like you don't love him too, don't try to deny it. Enjoy his youth. Spirits know someone should remind him he has some. He's too young to be so bitter. What's the phrase you humans use? Rock his world.”

“So I'll just go seduce the hardened vigilante while my boyfriend is away being a Council hero, shall I? Sounds like a bad soap opera plotline.”

“Not on Palaven, it doesn't. The only drama there is that one of your boyfriends is a dirty, dreaded Spectre.” She made a face at him and he laughed again. “Go on. Seduce the boy to your heart's content. I know there's enough left over for me when I get back. You can give me a full report.”

“I love you, Nihlus. I'm gonna hold you to that. But I'm not giving you details.”

“All right, fine. I love you too. Kiss the boy for me, Henna. I'll contact you as soon as I can.”

“I'm gonna hold you to that too.” She blew a kiss at the omni-tool and smiled when he stuck out his tongue at her and wagged it. She was still smiling when his image faded. “Turians.”

***

“You seem nervous, Garrus,” Henna said, sliding her arms around his cowl and letting her fingers brush against the underside of his fringe. He didn't shudder, necessarily, but he certainly was doing something. She wondered if she should maybe back off a little, open the wine. Find better music. Anything to put him at ease. It was strange to see a turian so...nervous. Of course, when she thought about it, Garrus had _always_ been this nervous around her. She remembered what Nih had said, so long ago. _Between the two of us, that boy's head is spinning_.

“You _are_ nervous, aren't you?” she asked, keeping her tone light and teasing without pushing too hard.

“A bit. You're the Commander...” he said, panting a little. “And a Spectre. And Nihlus...”

“You know it was his idea, right? He likes you, and he thinks we'd be good together. I mean, I certainly wasn't going to pick someone I couldn't trust. Someone I had no connection to. Trust me, Nih is good with this. And in this room I am just a woman. Who wants to see where this goes. C'mon, didn't we already have a date?”

He made a sound like a cross between a chuckle and a snort. “Yeah, I guess we did.”

She pressed her forehead to his and felt some of his tension drain off of him. His hands moved on her back, starting to get comfortable with her. It was funny being the one who initiated after so long with Nihlus. “We even made out in public, remember?”

He made a soft thrumming subvocal, rather like a muffled chuckle. “We did.”

“And it was nice. I wanted so much more then, and I want it now.”

“Shep...”

“Henna,” she insisted. He looked at her, his cobalt eyes burning into her. “Please. I don't want you to fall back on formality. Say my name. No one else does these days. I don't want to be facing down near certain death without hearing my name on someone's lips again.” She smirked at him. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“Henna,” he breathed as he smiled, mandibles flaring. He traced a talon over her cheek, following the line of the scars there. They didn't glow anymore, but that didn't mean they were gone. “I just want this to go right. I don't want this to...come between you and Nihlus...or change our friendship. You've been through so much, had so many plans change and choices made for you, I just don't want you to regret it after.”

“What was it you said? Blowing off steam is a normal activity for turians?”

“Well...yeah, but...”

“But?”

“You're not a turian.”

She smiled again. “Did you really think I'd want to go back to something closer to home?”

“It crossed my mind, yeah.”

“Can I tell you something? It might be TMI, but...it might also give you a better understanding of my perspective.”

“All right.”

She stepped back from him, putting a little distance between them in case it got weird. Still, she cocked at eyebrow at him playfully. “Human men aren't _built_ the same way as turian men. And I don't mean that as a flattering comparison for humans. I have zero regrets for admitting I prefer turians.”

She watched the flicker of his mandibles, the confusion turn to understanding. And then to smugness. She grinned as he did. “So what you're saying is, human men don't do it for you anymore.”

“Correct.”

“So you weren't kidding about testing your flexibility.”

She let her grin grow wider. “No, I wasn't. Now stop worrying about it and let it take its course.”

“Easy for you to say.” But he wasn't pulling away now, and he seemed more interested in putting his arms around her when she stepped closer to him.

“I never thought I'd find so much peace and happiness with your kind. But I have. It feels right to me now.” She smiled at him even as she shook her head at him. “It feels so right.” She kissed his mandible, noting with amusement that he looked scandalized for a moment before he looked intrigued. She did it again, then switched to the other side, the wounded one. She knew it was still more sensitive to touch and she barely ran her lips over it. He hummed, and his subvocals vibrated against her. “Do you like that?”

“I...yes...”

She smiled, her lips curving against his plates. She tugged and pulled at his clothes until he was naked and ran her lips over every inch of hide on his chest, down his waist. He yelped but didn't move, almost as if he was afraid if he did, she'd disappear like a wraith. He was already fully extended from his groin plates and she ran her mouth over him there too. Comparisons were inevitable, she knew, so she didn't try to stop this one. He wasn't as thick as Nihlus, but he was longer. She wrapped a hand around the base of him and squeezed gently before she slipped the head of his cock into her mouth.

“Spirits, Henna...” he pleaded. She stroked him with hands and mouth, feeling the tension build in him. She pulled away at the last second, ducking her head away so he came over her shoulder with a gasping cry. He stumbled back and she let him go, staying on the floor to look up at him. “That was the most...incredible...”

She grinned. He didn't seem so nervous now.

In fact, his gaze turned sharp and calculating. “Guess I need to return the favor.”

“If you like,” she teased. He gave her a hand up and tugged her close.

“Oh, I'd like.”

She raised a brow at him, liking this more confident side to him. “What did you have in mind?”

He answered by sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to the bed. He laid her down gently and began to unzip her ship suit. She helped him along, pulling her arms out of the sleeves and pushing the clingy material off her hips. He looked her over from head to toe then, his eyes taking in breasts, hips and legs. She raised one to let him see what he was getting himself into and saw his eyes fasten there as if laser guided.

“Can I...touch?”

“You can do whatever you want. I'll tell you if I don't like it. And don't worry, I'll tell you when I do, too.”

He slid next to her on the bed, lightly running his talons over her skin, watching the goosebumps rise. He seemed interested in how her nipples puckered and hardened and touched them first, watching her reaction closely. “Is that all right?”

“Yes,” she breathed out, trying to keep herself in control. His touch was soft but just as precise as his aim.

He hefted the weight of a breast in his palm, feeling the contours and shape, before running the flat of his hand down her abdomen. Her muscles tightened perceptibly and he made a low sound, almost like a laugh, but almost a groan. _Garrus likes hardbodies_ , she thought, amused. She deliberately sucked in her gut, making the muscles more defined, and his eyes narrowed. His mouth opened just enough that she could see the tip of his tongue. She wanted to encourage him, so she arched into his touch. He laid his hand more firmly on her skin, brushing now across her hip bone and to the top of her thigh.

He grew more tentative as he slipped between her legs, and she opened them wide to give him access. His hands were smoother than Nihlus's and his first touch against her clit was so slick she nearly didn't feel it. “So warm,” he murmured.

“Do it a bit harder...yes!” With more pressure she could feel the pad of his finger against her and her insides clenched. Going this slow was going to kill her. In the best way.

“What about this?” he asked softly, pushing his primary inside her, sinking easily to his knuckle. She didn't know if this was part of his research or an instinctual move, but he _curled_ his finger, hitting her G-spot and making her jump and cry out.

“Oh, God, Garrus...right there!”

“Here?” he asked, a definite teasing note in his voice. He flexed his finger within her and she moaned, her legs kicking at the bed, driving his finger deeper. “Here?” he asked more softly, lowering his head to whisper in her ear.

 _Death by turian_...

She came all at once, practically before she knew she was going to. He kept his finger inside her, feeling her clench on him, growing so wet it began to make noise as he stroked her. He finally withdrew his primary and met her eyes again. Without breaking their gaze, he licked his finger clean, a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd grown hard again, she noted. It thumped against her leg.

“I want you inside me, Garrus.”

He maneuvered himself over her, sliding between her legs, careful to keep his keel from jutting into her. She lifted her legs over his hips, scooting closer to him. She reached between them and guided his erection to her opening, letting him feel her close around him as he sank in a few inches. His eyes closed. She arched her back, rising to meet him and he sank all the way in with a groan echoed by hers.

“It's...”

“Yes...” she agreed.

He pulled back, almost completely leaving her body, and sank in again. He stroked her slow and deep, inching her back towards climax at a glacial pace. She knew he was probably just being careful, but she wanted more. She wanted him to pound at her, force her over the edge. She started to pull him closer, but couldn't get what she wanted with his keelbone in the way.

“Wait,” she said. “I want to try something.” He pulled away from her, slipping from her with a slick pop that made her giggle. She rolled onto her stomach and got up on her knees.

“Is that...comfortable for you?” he asked.

“Yes. Now, Garrus. Please.”

He lined himself up, watched himself disappear within her and made an inarticulate noise as he bottomed out. She felt the pressure of him against her womb and dropped her elbows down, arching her back more. _There_.

She rocked her hips against his, sharp and quick. He was a swift learner, she discovered. He took her hips in his hands and began to pump in and out of her at a steadier, harder pace. The new angle hit her in just the right spot and his hips against her ass drove her higher until she was clawing at the bed and muffling her shouts into the blanket. She snaked a hand underneath herself and rubbed her clit in time with his strokes until she came hard enough to tremble.

“Harder, Garrus...harder!”

He didn't need telling twice. He leaned over her, bracing his hands near her head and _fucked_ her. She laced their fingers together and pushed back into every jolting thrust, whimpering at how good it felt. She was elastic around him, pliable and giving and he took, filling her to bursting with each plunge. She could hear his ragged breathing in her ear, could see the fierce look of concentration in his face from the corner of her eye. With a gulping cry he tumbled and she could feel his cock pulsing inside her as he came. As one they collapsed onto the mattress, breathless and sated. He pulled out of her and rolled to his side, his talons dancing across her back, making her shiver. He seemed to especially like her shoulder blades.

“Was that all right?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried that it wasn't.

“Jesus, Garrus, where'd you get the idea that it wasn't?” He huffed a laugh and she turned to face him, nestling in close to him. “It was perfect.”

“Good.”

“Was it good for you?” _Oh, Henna, look at you, a walking cliché_.

“It was incredible.”

“Good.” She yawned, and made an apologetic face at him. But he only laughed and held her close, catching the blanket with his toes and bringing it up where he could reach it with a hand. “We'll have to do it again sometime.”

His mandibles flexed and he ran his talons through her hair. “I'd like that.”

“When we get back from this stupid base. We'll see just how flexible I can get.”

“You're on.”

She smiled and tucked herself even closer to him, the feel of him near her making her relax more than the sex had. She wasn't sure which one of them fell asleep first, but when Joker announced they were on their final approach, she woke more rested than she'd been in weeks.

 _All right, Nihlus, my love... you were right_.

**Author's Note:**

> The date part that's referenced here can be found in Cross-Species Liaisons.
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22529296/chapters/54532279


End file.
